MEDIA RELEASE – 10 May 2025
It’s not just Chris Hipkins who cannot define a woman!
The Government’s response to a 23,532-strong petition asking for ‘woman’ to be clearly defined in all laws, public policies and regulations has been issued, and is being labelled as weak, confused, and shows both a clear lack of understanding around what a woman is and any desire to protect women in society.
“The sad irony is that the Minister for Women in her response refused to define what a woman is. Alongside this, she is also clearly indicating the irrelevancy of her role because she will not actually stand up for the recognition and protection of women” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First.
The petition asked that ‘woman’ be defined as ‘an adult human female’ in all our laws, public policies and regulations. It was referred to the Minister for Women, Nicola Grigg, to reply to.
“There is a clear need to define what a woman is (and a man) so as ensure the necessary protections for specific women’s issues and spaces, such as schools; sports; prisons or other detention facilities; domestic violence centers; rape crisis centers; changing rooms; toilets; & other areas where biology, safety, or privacy are implicated that result in separate accommodations. (Family First has always held that individuals born with a medically verifiable diagnosis of disorder / differences in sex development should be provided appropriate legal protections.)”
“We note the further irony that the Government has just targeted pay equity laws which themselves are clearly focused on women, and yet simultaneously has responded to our petition saying they also have no idea what a woman is.”
The Government is also hiding behind a Law Commission review which is not actually about women but about “people who are transgender, people who are non-binary and people with innate variations of sex characteristics”.
The recent decision by the UK Supreme Court has given a clear and welcome direction that New Zealand could readily follow.
That the Minister’s response is clumsy and directionless means there is even more need for the Member’s Bill by New Zealand First MP Jenny Marcroft – the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill – to be drawn from the ballot, debated, and passed into law.
“It is well past time that the Minister for Women and the New Zealand Government remove their confusion around biological reality and return to protecting and celebrating women – especially given that we are celebrating Mothers’ Day this weekend,” says Mr McCoskrie.
